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Athlete nutrition guidelines will give you an idea how to manage your sports nutrition and diet to reach your winning edge. Nutrition for athletes should ideally be tailored to the requirements of each indidividual athlete and particular sport. You probably know that nutritional intake and athletes diet depends on many factors, such as:

Athletes who need to develop muscles for their sports have to take in almost double the protein as the recommended daily allowance. This works out 0.5 to 0.7 grams per pound body weight. Basically, it is a diet which is high in proteins. This is actually not difficult to achieve, if you have a diet that is rich in protein foods.

Just about 4 ounces of chicken, three ounces of tuna or other fish and three glasses of skim milk will yield 80 gm. of protein.

Eight ounces of soy (textured protein) will yield 100 gm. of protein.

Four ounces of roasted peanuts or pumpkin seeds offer 28 gm. of protein.

Low fat cheese and egg whites are also very good protein sources.

So by mixing foods it is not difficult to meet your daily protein requirements.

And if you just cannot manage with diet alone, there are many protein supplements in the market. These include

For endurance athletes like long distance runners, swimmers, bikers and others, a moderate to high carbohydrate intake is extremely important. The most energy expended should come from carbohydrates.

At least 50-60 percent of the daily calorie intake should come largely from complex carbohydrates. During periods of intense training, this should go up to 70 percent. Fat intake should comprise only about 15-30 percent and the remaining calorie requirements should come from proteins.

The athletes diet should therefore comprise mixed cereals and grains in the form of whole grains, whole-wheat pastas, mixed cereal flour breads along with lots of fruits and vegetables. For a balanced healthy diet, some protein foods should also be included. Eat often is a mantra which should be followed by endurance athletes.

During hard training sessions or intense workouts, the daily calorie intake can be as much as 12,000 calories. So total calorie intake also should be considered. If it is difficult to eat so much food, and the calorie intake reduces, the person can actually lose weight and get easily fatigued.

When the exercise bouts are over, the individual has to reduce his or her calorie intake, commensurate with the level of physical activity. Otherwise, athletes can put on weight in the form of fat.

How to optimize restoration of muscles glycogen stores

The daily intake of any athlete should vary depending on the activity level. Carbohydrate intake and daily carbohydrate periodization are very important to maintain high glycogen levels, which are the primary source of fuel for physical activities.

During the recovery period, on easy days of training between bouts of intense workouts, the carbohydrate intake should be between 2,5 and 3,5 gm per pound of body weight (5-7 gm per kg). To improve glycogen stores, this should be raised to 3,5 -6 gm per pound of body weight (7-12 gm per kg) when a training session is due or a sports event is going to take place.

On the day before an easy day of training when athlete has moderate carbohydrate intake such as 5 gm per pound of body weight he can increase calories intake from healthy fat and protein. In such way he will raise the concentration of intramuscular triglyceride which is a source of muscle fuel. Periodization of extra protein intake can be also beneficial.

Depending on the calories expended, an endurance athlete like a cyclist, whose training lasts for 4-6 hours, may find it easier to take in a certain amount of carbohydrates based on grams per day rather than percentage of calories. This will ensure that depleted glycogen stores are speedily replaced. Because 3,5 to 6 gm of carbohydrates per pound of body weight can be not enough and may represent only half of energy needed for energy balance.

For particular sporting activities, athlete nutrition guidelines indicate that the athlete should be lean. Cyclists, swimmers, bikers, jockeys and many other sports people need to be fit and have endurance.

In order to achieve their goal weight, these athletes need to keep their carbohydrate, protein and fat intake on the lower end of the scale. As long as their activity levels are high, they will lose excess weight.

Athlete nutrition guidelines are laid out for professional athletes based on Herbalife‘s Nutrition and Scientific Advisory boards recommendations for peak performance levels. Herbalife proudly sponsors star athletes, teams and sport events around the world. Use these athlete nutrition guidelines and see the better result.

Some Fitness, Diet and Nutrition Tips from Else Lautala, Fitness Competitor, Three Time World Champion.